System and method to track and log mobile communication device call status when the device is not in possession

ABSTRACT

A mobile device logging and tracking system permits a communicative association between a mobile device and a receiving device. When the mobile device communicates data including an indication of an unanswered call to the receiving device, the receiving device is configured to store the data in a memory. The memory may be local or remote from the receiving device. The receiving device may then communicate information associated with the unanswered call to a first electronic device, which may be an appliance, a gaming system, another mobile communication device, or some other device having computing capability.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/017,106, filed on Sep. 3, 2013, which is hereby incorporatedby reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure generally relates to services associated withmobile communication devices and more particularly, but not exclusively,relates to services associated with an unanswered call.

2. Description of the Related Art

Mobile communication devices have become ubiquitous in everyday life.People use wireless mobile communication devices throughout the entireday when they are awake, and often, their mobile communication deviceremains nearby when they sleep. Occasionally, a person loses ormisplaces a mobile communication device. In such cases, the person willoften make finding their mobile communication device their highestpriority. In other cases, a person will set their mobile communicationdevice down, become preoccupied in another activity, and then leave thearea where they set the mobile communication device down. In thesecases, the mobile communication device may not be lost or misplaced, butthe user will miss a phone call that is directed to the mobilecommunication device.

BRIEF SUMMARY

A new mobile device logging and tracking system operates in conjunctionwith mobile communication devices (e.g., smart phones) and receivingdevices (e.g., set top boxes) found in many homes and businesses. Themobile device logging and tracking adds certain logic modules toconventional mobile communication devices and receiving devices.

A mobile communication device typically includes a transceiverconfigured for short range communication (e.g., a Bluetoothtransceiver). Often, a receiving device includes a transceiverconfigured for short range communication. When certain logic modules areadded to the mobile communication device and the receiving device, anindicator of an unanswered call can be communicated during certaincircumstances to the receiving device.

A method to log calls to a mobile device may be summarized as includingcommunicatively associating the mobile device with a receiving device;receiving data with the receiving device from the mobile device, thedata including an indication that a call to the mobile device was notanswered; and storing the data in a memory associated with the receivingdevice.

A receiving device may be summarized as including a first transceiverconfigured for communicative coupling to at least one mobile device; asecond transceiver configured to communicate data to a computing device,the data indicating that a call to the mobile device is unanswered; aprocessing unit configured to direct the receiving device to: accept acommunication request from the mobile device via the first transceiver;accept information from the mobile device, the information associatedwith the call to the mobile device that is unanswered; and transmit anindication of the unanswered call to the computing device via the secondtransceiver.

A computer readable medium arranged to store software instructions, thesoftware instructions, when executed by a processor of a mobile device,arranged to direct the mobile device to perform acts, may be summarizedas including storing a communication profile, the profile defining anassociation with a receiving device; identifying a current period ofinactivity; identifying a current period of non-motion; receiving anindication of an incoming call during the current period of inactivityand the current period of non-motion; initiating a communicative link tothe receiving device according to the communication profile and based onthe received indication of the incoming call; and communicatinginformation associated with the incoming call to the receiving devicevia the communicative link.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments are described with referenceto the following drawings, wherein like labels refer to like partsthroughout the various views unless otherwise specified. The sizes andrelative positions of elements in the drawings are not necessarily drawnto scale. For example, the shapes of various elements are selected,enlarged, and positioned to improve drawing legibility. The particularshapes of the elements as drawn have been selected for ease ofrecognition in the drawings. One or more embodiments are describedhereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a mobile device logging and tracking system embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a wireless mobile device block diagram;

FIG. 3 is a receiving device block diagram;

FIG. 4 is a computing device block diagram;

FIG. 5 is a mobile device logging and tracking system embodied in auser's premises;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of a mobile device loggingand tracking system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a mobile device logging and tracking systemembodiment 10 as a block diagram. A mobile communication device 12 isconfigured to communicatively associate with a receiving device 14. Thereceiving device 14 is communicatively coupled to a first computingdevice 16 (i.e., a presentation device) and a second computing device 18(i.e., a smart refrigerator). The communication between devices may bewired communication, wireless communication, or a combination of wiredand wireless communication.

In one embodiment, a user leaves her mobile communication device 12somewhere in her house, and she then moves to another location in herhouse. The mobile communication device 12 is not necessarily in closeproximity to the user, but the mobile communication device 12 may be incommunication range of a receiving device 14. The mobile communicationdevice 12 is configured for operation in a wireless telecommunicationnetwork 20. A friend of the user calls her, and an indication of thecall is passed through the wireless network 20 to the mobilecommunication device 12. Since the user is no longer near her mobilecommunication device 12, she is unaware that the mobile communicationdevice 12 is receiving a call. The call is unanswered. Nevertheless, themobile communication device 12 is configured to associate with thereceiving device 14. The mobile communication device 12 passes data tothe receiving device 14, and the data includes an indication that a callto the mobile communication device 12 was not answered. The data mayalso include additional information such as the telephone number of thecaller, an image associated with the caller (e.g., the caller'sphotograph), a time and date stamp, a text message, voicemail, videomail, and other information.

Upon receiving the data, the receiving 14 device will process andcommunicate the data to one or more computing devices. In one case, theinformation is communicated to the first computing device 16, which isillustrated in FIG. 1 as a presentation display device. Alternatively,or in addition, the information is communicated to the second computingdevice 18, which is illustrated in FIG. 1 as a smart appliance (e.g., arefrigerator). The presentation device 16 may pass text/audio/visualinformation to one or more outputs. The smart refrigerator may flashlights, output a sound, put a message on a display, or provide someother indication of the information to a user.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram for a mobile communication device 12. Themobile communication device 12 is a wireless device associated with awireless telecommunications network. The mobile communication device 12may be used for business, pleasure, safety, and many other reasons. Manyconventional mobile communication devices are used both for voicecommunications as well as for data communications. For example, peopleuse their mobile communication devices to talk to other people, tointeract with Internet web pages on mobile communication devices, tosend and receive text and audio/visual messages, to receive geographicalpositioning information, and many other things.

The people that use mobile communication devices refer to the underlyingtelecommunications network with a wide variety of names. For example,the wireless telecommunication network 20 referenced herein mayalternatively be known as a commercial wireless network, a cellularnetwork, a mobile network, and any combination of same or similar words.The term wireless telecommunication network as used herein is intendedto broadly encompass any wide area commercial wirelesstelecommunications network. It is to be appreciated that the wirelesstelecommunication network 20 may include both wired and wirelessinfrastructure; for example, transceivers, repeaters, switches,antennas, access points, routers, public switched telephone networks,codecs, multiplexers, de-multiplexers, and the like.

The operators of the wireless telecommunications network 20 permit somemobile communication devices to access and communicate over the wirelesstelecommunications network 20. Generally, users of mobile communicationdevices 12 pay the operators for using the wireless communicationsnetwork.

The users of mobile communication devices 12 that communicate via thewireless telecommunications network 20 include individuals and othercomputing devices. The mobile communication devices 12 and users of themobile communication devices are interchangeably referenced herein asusers, mobile devices, clients, cell phones, smartphones, and anycombination of same or similar words.

The block diagram of FIG. 2 illustrates several components of mobilecommunications device 12. The mobile communication device 12 iselectronic communications devices having a processing unit 38 a and avolatile and/or non-volatile computer readable memory 40 a. The memory40 a stores instructions and data acted on by processing unit 38 a. Themobile communication device 12 may also include one or more transceivers42, 44 a and a motion detection device 48.

The processing unit 38 a may be a single processing unit or a formationof multiple processing units. The processing unit 38 a may be or includefield programmable gate arrays (FPGA), application specific integratedcircuits (ASIC), digital signal processors (DSP), central processingunits (CPU), or other like devices. The processing unit 38 a of a mobilecommunication device 12 may be broadly referenced herein as a CPU.

Memory 40 a comprises any combination of volatile and non-volatilenon-transitory computer-readable media (CRM) for reading and writing.Volatile computer-readable media includes, for example, random accessmemory (RAM). Non-volatile computer-readable media includes, forexample, read only memory (ROM), magnetic media such as a hard disk, anoptical disk drive, a flash memory device, a CD-ROM, and/or the like.

Inside memory 40 a, a particular collection of software instructions areexecuted by the processing unit 38 a in order to carry out somefunctions of the mobile device logging and tracking system 10. Thesoftware instructions operatively configure hardware and other softwarein the mobile device 12 so that information related to unanswered callsmay be optionally communicated to a receiving device. The informationrelated to unanswered calls, identifying information related to knowncontacts, and other data may be stored in a file system in memory 40 a.

The mobile communication device 12 further includes a collection ofinput/output circuits such as a first transceiver 42 and a secondtransceiver 44 a. The first transceiver 42 may be suitably configuredfor communications through the wireless telecommunication network 20.The first transceiver 42 may operate according to a Global System forMobile Communications (GSM) protocol, a Carrier Detect Multiple Access(CDMA) protocol, or some other protocol.

The second transceiver 44 a may be suitably configured forcommunications over short distances to and from the mobile communicationdevice 12 to another device such as receiving device 14. Thecommunication may be carried out via one or more wireless circuitsand/or protocols, for example, but not limited to, WiFi, Bluetooth,ZigBee/RF4CE, IEEE 1394 FireWire, infrared, ultra-high frequency (UHF)or another radio frequency (RF), and the like.

The second transceiver 44 a can be configured to couple (i.e.,communicatively associate) the mobile communication device 12 to othercomputing apparatuses in a direct one-to-one communication environment,in a personal area network (PAN) environment, in a local area network(LAN), or in another communicative configuration. For example, in oneembodiment, the mobile communication device 12 has a Bluetooth radiochipset that is operatively used to communicate with a correspondingBluetooth radio chipset of the receiving device 14. As another example,the mobile communication device 12 and the receiving device 14 may havehardware and software configured to communicate via an IEEE 802.11protocol. In some embodiments, the communicative association between awireless circuit of the mobile communication device 12 and a wirelesscircuit of the receiving device 14 is based on proximity, signalavailability, and/or the like.

The second transceiver 44 a enables the mobile communication device 12to communicate with receiving device 14 or another external device 54.Other external devices 54 include headsets, speakers, other mobiledevices, WiFi access points, facsimile machines, printers, globalpositioning devices (GPS), cameras, computers, and other like devices.

The transceivers of FIG. 2 may be implemented in a single transceivercircuit or multiple transceiver circuits. For example, the mobilecommunication device 12 may include a first transceiver 42 that iscomprised of one or more GSM chipsets configured to communicate onseveral frequency bands. The second transceiver 44 a may include a WiFichipset, a Bluetooth chipset, an infrared output device and detectiondevice, and other separately identifiable logic modules. Generallyspeaking, the transceivers of FIG. 2 are illustrated as having wide areanetwork (WAN) access, local area network (LAN) access, or personal areanetwork (PAN) access, but other configurations of modules arerecognized.

A motion detector 48 may optionally be arranged in the mobilecommunication device 12. The motion detector 48 may be an electricaldevice, a mechanical device, or an electro-mechanical device (e.g., aMEMs device). The motion detector 48 may be used to operationallydetermine whether or not the mobile communication device 12 is in astate of motion or a state of non-motion. In some cases, the functionsof the mobile device logging and tracking system 10 are performed afterthe mobile communication device 12 detects and identifies a currentperiod of non-motion.

In some cases, when a current period of non-motion is detected, themobile communication device 12 will further detect an incoming call thatis unanswered. In these cases, the mobile communication device 12 maypass information about the unanswered call to a receiving device 14. Insome cases, the period of non-motion is established after apredetermined time such as some number of seconds. The predeterminedtime may preferably be recognized as a threshold. The threshold may bestored in memory 40 a. The threshold may be fixed or, optionally, thecurrent period of non-motion threshold can be programmaticallyestablished via a user interface or via another means. For example, insome embodiments, a user is able to enter a value that is stored in acurrent period of non-motion threshold variable in memory 40 a.

The memory 40 a may further store a “current period of inactivity”threshold. The current period of inactivity may be implemented with acounter, a clock, or by some other means. The current period ofinactivity is generally related to the amount of time that the mobilecommunication device 12 has not been directly engaged in user-relatedactivity. For example, if the user of the mobile communication device 12has not conducted any calls, requested or sent data, activated any usercontrols such as a touch screen or a button, or if the user performedany other like tasks, then the current period of inactivity clock orcounter increments. The measure on the clock or counter is indicative ofthe period of inactivity. Along these lines, when a user does performany such activity, then the clock or counter is reset, which indicatesthat the mobile communication device 12 is in an active state.

In some cases, a threshold for a current period of inactivity is storedin the memory 40 a. The inactivity threshold may be hard-coded, or theinactivity threshold may be a variable that can be programmaticallychanged by a user or some other electronic device. In one exemplaryoperation, a current period of inactivity counter is interrogated. Basedon a comparison of the inactivity counter to the inactivity threshold,the state of the mobile communication device 12 may be determined to beactive or inactive. Certain functions of the mobile device logging andtracking system 10 are carried out depending on whether the state of themobile communication device 12 is determined to be active or inactive.

FIG. 3 is a receiving device block diagram. Receiving devices 14 may beinterchangeably referred to by a general device description such as a“television converter,” “receiver,” “set-top box,” “television receivingdevice,” “television receiver,” “programming receiver,” “televisionrecording device,” “satellite set-top box,” “satellite receiver,” “cableset-top box,” “cable receiver,” and/or “television tuner.” Accordingly,the receiving device 14 may be any suitable converter device orelectronic equipment that is operable to receive programming. Further,the receiving device 14 may itself include user interface devices, suchas buttons or switches. In many applications, the receiving device 14may be controlled by a remote device (not shown) in such a manner as toprovide enhanced functionality and/or an enhanced presentation of theprogramming to a user.

The receiving device 14 of FIG. 3 includes a processor 38 b. Theprocessor 38 b is a processor of the type 38 a generally described withrespect to FIG. 2. That is, the processor 38 b may be one or more of anFPGA, an ASIC, a DSP, or a CPU. The processors 38 a, 38 b may be, butare not necessarily, identical.

A volatile and/or non-volatile computer readable memory 40 b is includedin the receiving device 14. The memory 40 b is of the type 40 agenerally described with respect to FIG. 2. The memory 40 b may beidentical to the memory 40 a, or the memory 40 b may be different. Insome cases, the memory 40 b includes components that are internal to thereceiving device 14, external to the receiving device 14, or bothinternal and external to the receiving device 14.

The receiving device 14 will typically also include a first transceiver50 configured to receive programming. In some cases, the transceiver 50includes a circuitry for receiving and processing satellite signals. Inother cases, the transceiver 50 includes circuitry for receiving andprocessing cable-delivered signals. In still other cases, transceiver 50includes circuits for receiving and processing over-the-air (OTA)signals. The transceiver 50 enables the receiving device to receiveprogramming that can be processed and delivered to a presentationdevice.

A second transceiver 44 b of FIG. 3 is configured to couple (i.e.,communicatively associate) with the second transceiver 44 a of FIG. 2.That is, in embodiments of the mobile device logging and tracking system10, the receiving device 14 and the mobile device 12 have at least onecorresponding transceiver 44 a, 44 b. The corresponding transceivers areconfigured to communicate with each other such that information may bepassed between the mobile communication device 12 and the receivingdevice 14.

A third transceiver 46 b of the receiving device 14 of FIG. 3 isconfigured to couple with a transceiver of a computing device 18. In amobile device logging and tracking system 10, the receiving device 14 isconfigured to receive and process information related to unansweredcalls of a known mobile communication device 12. Under certainconditions, some of the information related to an unanswered call, orother associated information, is communicated to one or more computingdevices 18. The communication is facilitated via the third transceiver46 b.

In one example, the computing device 18 is embodied in a smart appliancesuch as a refrigerator. If a call to a particular mobile communicationdevice 12 is unanswered, certain information is communicated to thereceiving device 14 through the second transceiver 44 b. The informationmay be processed and new information may be created. An indication ofthe unanswered call is then communicated via the third transceiver 46 bto a computing device 18 embodied in the refrigerator. The refrigeratormay process the information and emit sound, light, vibration, or someother indication of the unanswered call. The refrigerator may alsoaccept information from a user in response to the indication of theunanswered call.

The third transceiver 46 b of receiving device 14 may conform to a WiFiprotocol, Bluetooth protocol, ZigBee/RF4CE protocol, IEEE 1394 FireWireprotocol, USB protocol, Ethernet protocol, Multimedia-Over-Coax Alliance(MoCA) protocol, infrared protocol, ultra-high frequency (UHF), oranother wired or wireless protocol. The transceiver 46 b of receivingdevice 14 and a transceiver of the computing device 18 generallycooperate in a personal area network (PAN) environment or even apeer-to-peer environment to uni-directionally or bi-directionally passinformation.

The transceivers of FIG. 3 may be implemented in a single transceivercircuit or multiple transceiver circuits. For example, the receivingdevice 14 may include a first transceiver 50 that is comprised of asatellite receiver front-end, while the second transceiver 44 b mayinclude a WiFi chipset, a Bluetooth chipset, a ZigBee/RF4CE chipset, aninfrared output device and detection device, and other separatelyidentifiable logic modules. Generally speaking, the transceivers of FIG.3 are illustrated as having either programming (e.g., audio/visualtelevision programming) capability or personal area network (PAN)capability, but other configurations of modules are recognized.

The receiving device 14 of FIG. 3 may be configured to communicate withone or more mobile communication devices 12 a, 12 b, . . . 12 n. Each ofthe illustrated mobile communication devices 12 a, 12 b, . . . 12 n is adevice of the mobile communication device 12 of FIGS. 1, 2, and 5. Afirst mobile communication device 12 a may be associated with a firstuser; a second mobile communication device 12 b may be associated with asecond user, and so on. A receiving device 14 may store a profile inmemory 40 b for each of the associated mobile communication devices 12a, 12 b, . . . 12 n. Each profile may include particular characteristicsfor a communicative coupling with a respective mobile communicationdevice 12. In addition, each profile may describe or direct thecharacteristics of communications with the receiving device. Forexample, a first mobile communications device 12 a may direct thereceiving device 14 to communicate unanswered calls to a first set ofcomputing devices while a second mobile communications device 12 b maydirect the receiving device 14 to communicate unanswered calls to asecond set of computing devices. In another example, an unanswered callto a first mobile communications device 12 a may cause the receivingdevice 14 to direct a computing device to output a first sound while anunanswered call to a second mobile communications device 12 b may causethe receiving device 14 to direct the computing device to output asecond sound. Accordingly, each mobile communication device 12 a-12 nmay be associated with its own profile in the receiving device 14, andthe profile may call out system-wide unique sets of devices, audiooutputs, video outputs, tactile outputs, information (e.g., caller ID,time of missed call, and the like) and other features associated witheach particular mobile communication device 12 a-12 n. The profiles maybe manually or programmatically configurable by a user, for example viaa user interface.

In some cases, the receiving device 14 may be associated with externalcomputer services 52. The external computer services 52, which may bereferred to as “cloud services,” “cloud-based computing,” “serverfarms,” or other similarly functional external services. In some cases,the external computer services are accessible via the Internet 53 oranother wide area network (WAN). The external computer services 52 maybe used by the receiving device 14 to store information received orgenerated within the receiving device 14. In this way, other devicesthat are remote from the receiving device may have access to the storedinformation. In one embodiment, information related to an unansweredcall is stored by the receiving device 14 on the external computingservice 52, which is configured to include a remote computing storagedevice (not shown). Subsequently, a user (e.g., the owner of thereceiving device 14 located in the owner's home) can access theinformation from another location (e.g., from work) while using adifferent computing device (e.g., a desktop or laptop computer with anInternet connection).

FIG. 4 is a computing device 18 block diagram. A computing device 18 maybe embedded in a wide range of devices found in a home, business, publicarea, private area, or other place. The computing device 18 includesoperable logic to receive information from a receiving device 14. Asdiscussed herein, a computing device 18 may be embodied in a mobilecommunication device (e.g., mobile communication device 12). Thecomputing device 18 may also be embodied in another receiving device(e.g., receiving device 14).

In the present disclosure, computing device embodiments also includeappliances such as refrigerators, freezers, cooking appliances,dishwashers, laundry machines; automotive apparatus such as smart carsystems, global positioning systems (GPS), automotive entertainmentsystems; building systems such as heating, ventilation, air conditioning(HVAC) controls, alarm (e.g., security, safety) systems; entertainmentdevices such as game consoles, audio equipment, video equipment,audio/video equipment, smart picture frames, smart clocks,weather-related devices, personal computers; wearable computing devicessuch as necklace transceiver devices, bracelet transceiver devices,smart watches, smart glasses, and other mobile and non-mobile devices.

The computing device 18 of FIG. 4 includes a processor 38 c. Theprocessor 38 c is a processor of the type 38 a generally described withrespect to FIG. 2. Processor 38 c may be one or more of an FPGA, anASIC, a DSP, a CPU, or some other computing processor. Processor 38 cmay be, but is not necessarily, identical to processor 38 a andprocessor 38 b.

A volatile and/or non-volatile computer readable memory 40 c isconfigured for operation with computing device 18. The memory 40 c is amemory of the type 40 a generally described with respect to FIG. 2.Memory 40 c may be, but is not necessarily, identical to memory 40 a andmemory 40 b. In some cases, the memory 40 c includes structures internalto computing device 18, external to the computing device 18, or bothinternal and external to computing device 18.

The computing device 18 of FIG. 4 includes a transceiver 46 c configuredto couple (i.e., communicatively associate) with a transceiver 46 b of areceiving device 14. In embodiments of the mobile device logging andtracking system 10, the receiving device 14 communicates informationassociated with an unanswered call of a mobile device 12. Upon receiptof the information, the computing device 18 will generally provide anoutput indication that can be perceived by a person in proximity to thecomputing device.

The transceiver 46 c of computing device 18 may conform to a WiFiprotocol, Bluetooth protocol, ZigBee/RF4CE protocol, IEEE 1394 FireWireprotocol, USB protocol, Ethernet protocol, Multimedia-Over-Coax Alliance(MoCA) protocol, infrared protocol, ultra-high frequency (UHF), oranother wired or wireless protocol. The transceiver 46 b of receivingdevice 14 and a transceiver of the computing device 18 generallycooperate in a local area network (LAN) environment, a personal areanetwork (PAN) environment or even a peer-to-peer environment.Communication between a receiving device 14 and a computing device 18may be unidirectional or bidirectional.

The computing device 18 includes a user interface 56 having one or moreoptional modules. The user interface may optionally include visualmodules such as an LED module 58 or a display module 60, an audio module62 (i.e., input devices such as a microphone and/or output devices suchas speakers), and a tactile module 64. In the computing device 18,information associated with an unanswered call to a mobile communicationdevice 12 is passed from a receiving device 14. The computing device maythen use one or more of the user interface modules to alert, inform, oraccept input from a user that is in proximity of the computing device18.

It has been recognized that the computing device 18 may be embodied in awide range of devices. Any such device having the same or similarcomponents as illustrated in FIG. 4 may be used as a computing device 18in a mobile device logging and tracking system 10.

FIG. 5 is a mobile device logging and tracking system 10 embodied in auser's premises 66. The user's premises 66 may be a business, home,multiple dwelling unit, or other facility or area where programming isdelivered to a receiving device 14. A motor vehicle 68 is in proximityof the user's premises 66. The premises 66 is illustrated with fourrooms, but any number of rooms could be constructed therein and functionwithin the mobile device logging and tracking system 10. A first roomhas a smart refrigerator 70, a smart cooking device 72 (e.g. stove,oven, or the like), and a smart cleaning device 74 (e.g., dishwasher). Asecond room has a first set top box 76 (e.g., receiving device 14), afirst display device 78, a first gaming device 80, and a first mobiledevice 82. A third room has a second set top box 84 (e.g., receivingdevice 14) and a second display device 86. The third room also has asecond gaming device 88, a second mobile device 90, a security systemdevice 92, and a smart picture frame 94. A fourth room has washingmachine 96, a clothes dryer 98, and a heating, ventilation, airconditioning (HVAC) device 100. First, second, third, and fourth users102 a-d are optionally present in each room, respectively. In the thirdroom, user 102 c is equipped with a wearable computing device 99.

Each of the devices 68-100 illustrated in FIG. 5 includes modules thatpermit the device to be configured as a computing device 18 (i.e., FIG.4). That is, in one form or another, each of the devices 68-100 includesa processing unit 38 c, a memory 40 c, a transceiver 46 c, and a userinterface 56.

Some user's premises 66 include an optional network, or a networkedsystem, to which receiving devices 14, computing devices 18, and otherdevices (e.g., mobile communication devices 12) can be coupled.Non-limiting examples of networks used in a mobile device logging andtracking system 10 include, but are not limited to, an Ethernet, twistedpair Ethernet, an intranet, a local area network (LAN) system, or thelike. The computing devices of FIG. 5, which include devices 68-100, arecommunicatively coupled to the network so that the plurality ofcomputing devices may optionally be communicatively coupled together andoperable to communicate with each other.

In one non-limiting embodiment of the mobile device logging and trackingsystem 10 of FIG. 5, a receiving device in the user's premises 66 isconfigured to log calls made to a mobile device. In the embodiment, morespecifically, in the second room, set top box 76 is configured to logcalls made to mobile device 82. Also in the embodiment, to facilitatethe logging operations, mobile device 82 is configured to pass theinformation to be logged to set top box 76. The configuration includesacts that direct a communicative association between the set top box 76and the mobile device 82.

Set top box 76 is arranged as a receiving device 14 of FIG. 3. Atransceiver of the set top box 76 includes a profile stored in memorythat directs communication with mobile device 82. In one case, theprofile that directs communication between set top box 76 and mobilecommunication device 82 includes information related to a Bluetoothprotocol, but other wireless and wired communication protocols couldalso be followed. Set top box 76 may include profiles for communicationwith many mobile devices (e.g., mobile communication device 90 in thethird room).

Mobile communication device 82 is arranged as a mobile communicationdevice 12 of FIG. 2. That is, the mobile communication device 82includes a memory arranged to store software instructions, which, whenexecuted by the processor, are arranged to direct the mobile device toperform acts of the mobile device logging and tracking system 10.

In one example, a transceiver in the mobile communication device 82 is aBluetooth transceiver. Transceivers that conform to other communicationprotocols may also be used. The mobile communication device 82 stores aprofile that defines and directs communication between the mobilecommunication device 82 and the set top box 76. The mobile communicationdevice 82 may include many profiles that direct communications betweenthe mobile device 82 and other devices such as a second set top box 84,an audio headset (not shown), a gaming device 80, a security systemcomponent 92, or many others.

In some cases, the mobile communication device 82 is only able tocommunicate with one device at a time using the transceiver that willcommunicatively associate with set top box 76. For example, if thetransceiver conforms to a Bluetooth protocol, then the mobilecommunication device 82 is only dedicated to communications with onlyone associated external device at a time. The mobile communicationdevice 82 can separately communicate with other external devices usingthe transceiver, but generally not at the same time. Alternatively, evenin cases where a transceiver can conduct two or more concurrentcommunication sessions, the mobile communication device 82 will stilloften communicate with only one external device at a time to savecomputing resources, power, or for other reasons.

In many cases, the mobile communication device 82 will initiate andterminate the communicative association with set top box 76. Forexample, if the mobile communication device 82 is actively communicatingvia the transceiver to an audio headset, the mobile communication device82 may further be programmed to maintain the communicative associationwith the audio headset and postpone or ignore a communicativeassociation with set top box 76. On the other hand, at a time when thetransceiver is idle, the mobile communication device 82 may initiate acommunicative association with the set top box 76. In some cases,communicative associations are scheduled. In other cases, communicativeassociations are based on a particular event such as a fixed orprogrammable duration of idle time or non-motion time of the mobilecommunication device 82. In still other cases, an event commonlytriggers both the mobile communication device 82 and the set top box 76to initiate the communicative association. Accordingly, thecommunicative associations may be synchronous or asynchronous.

The mobile communication device 82 is further configured to carry outacts related to logging unanswered calls. For example, turning back tothe embodiment in FIG. 5, the mobile communication device 82 may beassociated with user 102 a in the first room. In such a case, the user102 a is in room 1 while her mobile communication device 82 is in room2, out of her hearing range. While the mobile communication device 82 isstationary in room 2, the mobile communication device 82 identifies thecurrent period of inactivity and the current period of non-motion. Thatis, since user 102 a is not manipulating her mobile device via the userinterface or in any other way, the mobile device 82 is deemed to be inan inactive state; and since the mobile communication device 82 is notbeing moved, the mobile device 82 is deemed to be in a non-motion state.The time durations (i.e., thresholds) that must pass before the mobilecommunication device 82 determines a state of inactivity or non-motionmay be the same or they may be different. The time periods may furtherbe fixed or they may be programmable (e.g., via a user interface).

At some point, a friend of user 102 a places a telephone call to themobile communication device 82. The mobile communication device 82receives an indication of the incoming call. If the incoming callindication is received during a period of inactivity and non-motion,further processing may be performed to carry out the acts of the mobiledevice logging and tracking system 10.

The further processing in the mobile communication device 82 when themobile device is inactive and not in motion when an incoming call isreceived may include another threshold or test to determine whether ornot the call is answered at all. In some cases, information pertainingto the incoming call is passed to the set top box 76 while the call isstill incoming and answerable. In other cases, the information is onlypassed to set top box 76 after the call is identified as “missed” (i.e.,the caller hangs up, the call is passed to voice mail, the call is“answered” but the user does not speak, and the like).

Upon detection of the unanswered call, the mobile communication device82 will initiate a communicative link to the set top box 76 according tothe communication profile stored in memory. In some cases, acommunication request is passed from the mobile communication device 82and received by the set top box 76. In other cases, informationpertaining to the unanswered call is passed in a same message as therequest to communicate. In still other cases, no express request forcommunication to the set top box 76 is necessary, but instead, themobile communication device merely begins communicating informationrelated to an unanswered call.

Based on certain factors, including the indication of the incoming call,the determined state of inactivity, and the determined state ofnon-motion, the mobile communication device 82 will pass informationassociated with the incoming unanswered call to set top box 76. Theinformation passed to the set top box 76 may include contact informationretrieved by the mobile communication device 82. For example, theoriginating call number may be passed, other caller-ID information maybe passed such as an image of the caller or information otherwiseassociated with the caller may be passed, and other like information mayalso be passed. The information associated with the unanswered call mayinclude a time stamp, a time and date of most recent call, and abusiness name. The information may also include other call logginginformation such as missed calls, completed calls, other phone numbersor identification information (e.g., email address) associated with thecontact, and other information. In some cases, if the caller has left atext message, voicemail, or video mail, the text/audio/video file mayalso be passed to the set top box 76.

After the information associated with the unanswered call is passed, themobile communication device 82 may terminate the communicative link tothe set top box 76. If a transceiver of mobile communication device 82used to communicate to set top box 76 had previously beencommunicatively coupled to a another different device, the mobilecommunication device 82 will in some cases reinstate the communicativeassociation with the other different device. For example, the mobilecommunication device 82 transceiver may have been paired with a headsetbefore the unanswered call was received. In this case, upon determiningthe unanswered call, the mobile communication device 82 may break thepairing with the headset, establish a pairing with the set top box 76,pass the information to the set top box 76, terminate the pairing withthe set top box 76, and re-associate with the headset.

The set top box 76 is configured to perform acts of the mobile devicelogging and tracking system 10. When the mobile communication device 82communicatively associates with set top box 76, certain information(i.e., data) about the unanswered call is communicated. The informationcommunicated from the mobile communication device 82 and the processingof the information is directed by the configuration of the set top box76.

The set top box 76 is configured to receive the information includingthe indication that a call to the mobile device was not answered. Theset top box 76 will store the information in a memory associated withthe set top box 76. In some cases, the memory is local to the set topbox 76. In other cases, the memory is a network accessible memoryarranged for access via a networked computing device. That is, the settop box 76 may store the information from the mobile communicationdevice 82 locally, and alternatively or in addition, the set top box 76may store the information remotely in a memory associated with externalcomputing services 52 (e.g., a remote computing storage device, FIG. 3)accessible via a wide area network such as the Internet. When theinformation is stored remotely (e.g., “in the cloud”), a user may beable to access the information associated with the unanswered call fromsome other location using, for example, a computer connected to theInternet and via accessing a particular website.

Upon receiving information from mobile communication device 82 includingan indication that a call to the mobile communication device 82 wasunanswered, the set top box 76 is configured to optionally perform oneor more acts. The set top box 76 may communicate information associatedwith the unanswered call to a first electronic device (i.e., FIG. 4). Insome cases, the first electronic device may be display or a smartappliance such as a refrigerator, a freezer, a cooking appliance, and acleaning appliance. In fact, the first device may be any device havingproperties of the computing device of FIG. 4 including the devices68-100 illustrated in FIG. 5. In addition to communicating theinformation to the first computing device, the set top box 76 maycommunicate the information to a second computing device or any numberof additional computing devices.

The set top box 76 may communicate the information to computing devicesvia a transceiver configured for a direct connection, a local areanetwork, a wide area network, or via some other means. The communicationmay be via a wired communication path, a wireless communication path, ora combination of wired and wireless communication paths. Communicationmay be via one or more mediums including WiFi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, 1394(i.e., FireWire), USB, Ethernet, MoCA, infrared, UHF, or anothercommunication type.

The communication between a receiving device and computing device may bevia message posting, pushed communications, master-slave communications,or by another scheme. That is, the receiving device and the computingdevice may communicate according to one or more message passing schemesthat the devices conform to. For example, in one case, the receivingdevice and the computing device subscribe to a common messaging server.When one device (e.g., the receiving device) has information or aninformation request for another device (e.g., a smart appliance), thefirst device posts a message to the common server and the second deviceretrieves the message from the same common server. In this scheme,neither device is blocked, and both devices asynchronously post messagesand poll for messages. In another example, a first device (e.g., thereceiving device) is able to communicate (i.e., push) informationdirectly to a second device (e.g., a smart appliance). In this scheme,the first device controls the communications between both devices. Otherschemes to pass information between the computing devices may also beimplemented.

In one case, the set top box 76 is configured to communicate informationassociated with the unanswered call to one or more known devices; thatis, devices previously associated with the set top box. The set top boxmay communicate the information to one or more smart appliances in room1, for example. If the appliance includes features of the computingdevice 18 of FIG. 4, then the appliance will receive the information andprovide indications of the information via a user interface of theappliance. The indications from the appliance may include LED's thatilluminate or flash, certain audio that is output, tactile feedback suchas vibration, or other indications.

Once again addressing the embodiment wherein a user 102 a is in room 1when her smartphone (i.e., mobile communication device 82) is in room 2,a call to the smartphone is unanswered. The mobile communication device82 initiates a communicative association with the set top box 76, andthe information related to the unanswered call is passed to the set topbox 76. The set top box 76 is configured to perform further acts thatimplement the mobile device logging and tracking system 10. The actsinclude passing the information to other devices, which then alert theuser to the unanswered call via an interface of the other devices. Inthe example, the set top box 76 is configured to associate with thesmart refrigerator 70 in room 1, the display device 78 in room 2, thesmart picture frame 94 in room 3, and the washing machine 96 in room 4.The indication of the unanswered call directs the set top box 76 to passinformation to each of the associated devices. The smart refrigerator70, for example, may have a display and LED's in a user interface. TheLED's of the refrigerator 70 may flash and the display may indicate theidentity of the caller. The smart picture frame 94 in room 3 may displayan image of the caller. The washing machine 96 in room 4 may have LEDoutputs, sound output, or the machine may vibrate to indicate that anincoming call was unanswered. In other embodiments, the set top box 76may be configured to pass the information to any number of othercomputing devices.

In another non-limiting embodiment of FIG. 5, the indication of theunanswered call is passed from mobile computing device 82 to set top box76 while the call is still in progress. That is, the call is stillringing, but mobile communication device 82 has been in states ofinactivity and non-motion for a duration that exceeds one or morethresholds. In this case, the set top box determines that the call isstill in progress and may possibly be answered by any computing device18 that includes both audio input and audio output functionality. Thus,the set top box 76 will operate as a pass-thru device wherein the callthat is unanswered by the mobile communication device 82 is answered bya computing device associated with the set top box 76. The computingdevice may be a second mobile communication device. Alternatively, or inaddition, the computing device may be another computing device thatincludes both audio input and audio output functionality such as awearable computing device.

This second non-limiting embodiment may be further described usingexemplary facts already discussed. That is, with respect to FIG. 5,mobile communication device 82 is associated with user 102 a, who is inthe first room while her mobile communication device 82 is in room 2,out of her hearing range. A friend of user 102 a places a telephone callto mobile communication device 82. The mobile communication device 82receives an indication of the incoming call, passes a communication toset top box 76, and set top box 76 communicates the indication of theunanswered call to a computing device having audio input and outputcapabilities. The computing device may be a second mobile communicationdevice 90 in room 3, a wearable computing device 99 attached to user 102c in room 3, a GPS or other system in motor vehicle 68, a gaming device80 or 88, a security system 92, or some other device in rooms 1 to 4.The selected computing device may then answer the call. In this case,the set top box 76 passes communication data from the friend of user 102a, between mobile communication device 82 and the selected computingdevice, through set top box 76, and to one or more selected computingdevices.

In one more non-limiting embodiment variation, it has been discoveredthat the receiving device (e.g., set top box 76) does not need to befully on or operating to participate in the acts of the mobile devicelogging and tracking system 10. That is, the receiving device may acceptthe communicative association with the mobile communication device,receive the data including the indication that a call was unanswered,and store the data when the receiving device appears to be in a poweredoff mode, a sleep mode, a standby mode, or another like state.

In the embodiments wherein the receiving device appears to be “off,” thereceiving device may carry out one or more particular acts. For example,the receiving device may continue to appear “off” while the acts arecarried out. Alternatively, or in addition, the receiving device maydirect an associated presentation device to turn on so that theindication can be displayed to a nearby user. The direction provided bythe receiving device to turn on the presentation device may be via aremote control, a wired connection, or via some other means.

Alternatively, the mobile communication device may include remotecontrol capability, and the mobile communication device may direct thepresentation device to turn on. In the embodiment, the mobile device maydetect its states of inactivity and non-motion, and when a call isreceived, the mobile device may direct the presentation device to turnon as a remote control. Other acts of the mobile device logging andtracking system 10 may also be carried out such that informationassociated with the unanswered call may be passed to a receiving device.

In another embodiment, the receiving device is configured to act as apass-through device using more than a single computing device. Forexample, in such an embodiment, a set of entertainment system speakers(e.g., Surround sound) may be used to output audio information, and asecurity system or a remote control device having a microphone may beused to accept audio input.

The security system in this example (or other connected computingdevices) may further be used by the mobile device logging and trackingsystem 10 in other embodiments. Typically, a security system hascomponents located throughout the user's premises 66. The components mayinclude audio input microphones, video cameras, and motion detectors.When an inactive, non-motion mobile communication device receives acall, the indication of the unanswered call may be passed through areceiving device to the security system, or the receiving device mayreceive information from the security device. Using such information,for example where in the premises a user is located, certain computingdevices can be chosen to receive the information. Thus, the receivingdevice will direct the information associated with the unanswered callto a room and a computing device where a person is believed to be.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of a mobile device loggingand tracking system 600. Separate tracks of operations are illustratedfor a mobile device, a receiving device, and a computing device. In manycases, operations will commence in a plurality of a mobile devices and aplurality of computing devices.

The mobile device operations of FIG. 6 may be performed in one or moremobile communication device 12 illustrated and described with respect toFIGS. 1, 2, and 5.

The receiving device operations of FIG. 6 may be performed in areceiving device 14 illustrated and described with respect to FIGS. 1,3, and 5.

The computing device operations of FIG. 6 may be performed in acomputing device 18 illustrated and described with respect to FIGS. 1,4, and 5.

Processing begins in the mobile device, the receiving device, and thecomputing device at 602 a, 602 b, and 602 c, respectively. At 604, themobile device determines if there is an incoming call. If not, theprocessing in the mobile device remains at 604. If a call is incoming at604, the mobile device determines if the call is unanswered. A call isdetermined to be unanswered if the mobile device is inactive for aduration longer than a first threshold 606 and if the mobile device isnot in motion for a duration longer than a second threshold 608. If thecall to the mobile device is not determined to be unanswered, processingcontinues at 604.

If the call to the mobile device is determined to be unanswered,processing continues at 610 wherein a communicative association with areceiving device is initiated.

At 612, the receiving device is waiting for communications with themobile device to be initiated. The receiving device remains pending at614 until a communicative association is formed with the mobile device.

At 614, the mobile device sends data including an indication of anunanswered call to the receiving device.

At 616, the receiving device receives from the mobile device a requestto communicate. The receiving device receives data from the mobiledevice and, from the data, identifies the mobile device and retrieves aprofile based on the identification of the mobile device. At 618, thereceiving device performs acts associated with the particular mobiledevice and directed by the mobile device profile. The acts includecommunicating with the computing device based on the profile.

At 620, the computing device is waiting for communications from thereceiving device. The computing device waits at 620 until the receivingdevice commences communications. At 622, the computing device performsthe actions directed by the receiving device.

At 624, the mobile device has completed sending data to the receivingdevice, and the mobile device terminates the communicative associationwith the receiving device.

Processing ends for the mobile device, receiving device, and computingdevice at 626 a, 626 b, and 626 c, respectively.

In the foregoing description, certain specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of various disclosedembodiments. However, one skilled in the relevant art will recognizethat embodiments may be practiced without one or more of these specificdetails, or with other methods, components, materials, etc. In otherinstances, well-known structures associated with electronic andcomputing systems including client and server computing systems, as wellas networks have not been shown or described in detail to avoidunnecessarily obscuring descriptions of the embodiments.

Unless the context requires otherwise, throughout the specification andclaims which follow, the word “comprise” and variations thereof, suchas, “comprises” and “comprising” are to be construed in an open,inclusive sense, e.g., “including, but not limited to.”

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” and variations thereof means that a particular feature,structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodimentis included in at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearances of thephrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various placesthroughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to thesame embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, orcharacteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or moreembodiments.

As used in this specification and the appended claims, the singularforms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the contentclearly dictates otherwise. It should also be noted that the term “or”is generally employed in its sense including “and/or” unless the contentclearly dictates otherwise.

The headings and Abstract of the Disclosure provided herein are forconvenience only and do not interpret the scope or meaning of theembodiments.

The various embodiments described above can be combined to providefurther embodiments. Aspects of the embodiments can be modified andchanges can be made to the embodiments in light of the above-detaileddescription. In general, in the following claims, the terms used shouldnot be construed to limit the claims to the specific embodimentsdisclosed in the specification and the claims, but should be construedto include all possible embodiments along with the full scope ofequivalents to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, the claimsare not limited by the disclosure.

1. A method to log calls to a mobile device, comprising: communicativelyassociating the mobile device with a receiving device; receiving datawith the receiving device from the mobile device, the data including anindication that a call to the mobile device was not answered; storingthe data in a memory associated with the receiving device; andcommunicating information associated with the data from the receivingdevice via a local network to a smart appliance.
 2. The method of claim1 wherein the act of receiving data is conditioned on the mobile devicebeing inactive during a time that an indication of the call to themobile device was available on the mobile device.
 3. The method of claim1 wherein the communicative associating, the receiving, and the storingacts are performed when the receiving device appears to be in a poweredoff mode, a sleep mode, or a standby mode.
 4. The method of claim 1,comprising: communicating information associated with the data to asecond electronic device.
 5. The method of claim 4 wherein the secondelectronic device is a display.
 6. The method of claim 4 wherein thesmart appliance is drawn from a set of smart appliances including arefrigerator, a freezer, a cooking appliance, a cleaning appliance, anautomotive apparatus, a building system, an entertainment device, a homeautomation device, and a wearable computing device.
 7. The method ofclaim 1, comprising: receiving information representing a location of aperson in a first location; selectively communicating informationassociated with the data from the receiving device to a first smartappliance associated with the first location.
 8. The method of claim 1,comprising: receiving information representing a location of a firstperson in a first location; receiving information representing alocation of a second person in a second location; based on which of thefirst person and the second person is associated with the mobile device,communicating information associated with the data from the receivingdevice to a selected smart appliance associated with the first locationor the second location.
 9. The method of claim 1 wherein the memory is anetwork accessible memory arranged for access via a networked computingdevice.
 10. The method of claim 1, comprising: upon receiving the datafrom the mobile device including the indication that the call to themobile device was not answered, communicatively disassociating themobile device with a receiving device.
 11. A receiving device,comprising: a first transceiver configured to be communicatively coupledto at least one mobile device; a second transceiver configured tocommunicate data to a smart appliance, the data indicating that a callto the at least one mobile device is unanswered; a processing unitconfigured to direct the receiving device to: accept a communicationrequest from the at least one mobile device via the first transceiver;accept information from the at least one mobile device via the firsttransceiver, the information associated with the call to the at leastone mobile device that is unanswered; and transmit an indication of theunanswered call to the smart appliance via the second transceiver. 12.The receiving device of claim 11 wherein the smart appliance is drawnfrom a set of devices including a refrigerator, a freezer, a cookingappliance, a cleaning appliance, an automotive apparatus, a buildingsystem, an entertainment device, a home automation device, and awearable computing device.
 13. The receiving device of claim 11 whereinthe processing unit is configured to further direct the receiving deviceto: operate as a pass-thru device wherein the call to the at least onemobile device that is unanswered is answered by the smart appliance. 14.The receiving device of claim 11 wherein the smart appliance comprises:an audio input device; and an audio output device.
 15. The receivingdevice of claim 11, further comprising: a remote control device, theremote control device enabled to receive direction from the mobiledevice to provide an indication of the unanswered call.
 16. A system,comprising: a receiving device communicatively coupleable to at leastone mobile device; and a smart appliance communicatively coupleable tothe receiving device, wherein upon receiving an indication from themobile device that a call to the at least one mobile device was notanswered, the receiving device is arranged to communicate dataassociated with the indication to the smart appliance.
 17. The system ofclaim 16 wherein the smart appliance is drawn from a set of devicesincluding a refrigerator, a freezer, a cooking appliance, a cleaningappliance, an automotive apparatus, a building system, an entertainmentdevice, a home automation device, and a wearable computing device. 18.The system of claim 16, comprising: a plurality of smart appliancesincluding the smart appliance, the plurality of smart appliancesoperable at different locations.
 19. The system of claim 16, comprising:a memory associated with the receiving device, the memory arranged tostore plurality of smart appliance profiles, at least one of the smartappliance profiles associated with each of the plurality of smartappliances, wherein a smart appliance profile identifies communicationcapabilities of its associated smart appliance.
 20. The system of claim19 wherein the communication capabilities include at least one of audiocapability information, video capability information, and tactilecapability information.